The history of the stud
Flight of the Lipizzaners!
The outbreak of the First World War put an end to Austrian horse breeding at the stud in Lipica. Nearby fighting prompted the evacuation of the Lipizzaner stud to Laxenburg near Vienna and the Kladrub stud in 1915. The 97 horses assigned to Austria came to Piber in 1920. Conditions at Piber resemble those of Lipica in many ways: a similar geology, a mild and healthy climate, strong and robust grass. Stud management was housed at Piber Castle. After Austria was annexed to Nazi Germany, the young republic became a province and the Spanish Riding School was put under the command of the German Wehrmacht. In 1942, the Lipizzaners from Piber were taken to a central military stud in Hostau in the Bohemian Forest. From there, American troops transported them to Bavaria in April 1945 and later even to Upper Austria. They only returned to Styria more than a decade later, in 1952. Breeding has produced outstanding results, which is therefore of huge importance, since the Spanish Riding School in Vienna only ever trains Lipizzaner stallions bred at Piber.
A-8580 Köflach
+43 3144 33 23
office@piber.com